The avocado was having a nightmare
of wild magic in the blue apples, electric snails
Moonbeam knife sacrificed children
with spider blood under a silver sun
A feather was a scalpel
dancing jagged scars on the orange’s skin.
And the girl screamed as mango honey slashed her mouth
while the leopard-boy loved her.

- Me

A Different Kind of Housewife

Chopping up peppers, nodding in agreement with the sheikh on her laptop, and debating her mother on men’s degree of responsibility over women vs. women’s wisdom and instincts as the subject of her research paper… she is truly a very different kind of housewife.

Questions

Why is it that sometimes it’s easier to admit your mistakes to God, to ask His Forgiveness, and to swallow your pride in front of Him; than it is with other people? Why are we sometimes more reluctant/ afraid to say or do something in front of other people than we are in front of Allah?

Is it a sign of lack of emaan, shedding light on our pathetic state of affairs; or is it just “one of those things”?

Inna Lillaahi wa Inna Ilayhi Raaji'oon

My granduncle passed away early this morning, of the stomach cancer he was diagnosed with a month or two ago.
May Allah forgive him, grant him an easy time in the grave, and elevate him to the status of shaheed (martyr), ameen. And may Allah grant my family patience and strength of emaan (faith) to pull through this difficult time, ameen.

Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated that Allah’s Apostle (SAW) said:
“While a man was going on a way, he saw a thorny branch and removed it from the way and Allah became pleased by his action and forgave him for that.”
Then the Prophet (sal-allahu-alleihi-wasallam) said, “Five are martyrs:
1. One who dies of plague,
2. One who dies of an abdominal disease,
3. One who dies of drowning,
4. One who is buried alive (and) dies
5. And One who is killed in Allah’s cause.”

(Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 11, Hadith no. 624.)
...

I still can't believe it, though.
Even though I saw him suffering the effects of the cancer, the strongest memories I'll have of him are the numerous happy ones of my childhood: going to his house to pick cherries from the massive cherry tree in the garden, our many summer family barbecues, his loving teasing and jokes, his special smell as I'd snuggle up with him...
SubhanAllah. Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah.

-Mouse

Changes

Things are happening. Big things. It's in the air, strong as the smell of cheese in the breeze. Lives will change, the course of the future altered forever.

Keep your eyes peeled for more news, insha'Allah... :)

In Need of Your Ad'iyah

My granduncle has just been diagnosed with stomach cancer... and is, according to the doctors, beyond all help.
He's been sick for a while now - he didn't feel all that well when he came back from Hajj last year, and then he went to Malaysia and it got a bit worse - but he put it down to a really bad virus of some sort. When he finally started throwing up and was rushed to the hospital, they found out what it was.
Al-Hamdulillaah that we have so much of our family in the same city... my uncle and aunt are also flying in today to see my GoraDada.
Please make du'a that his last days are of ease and comfort, and that insha'Allah he dies as a shaheed.

"He who is killed fighting for Allah's cause is a martyr, he who dies in the cause of Allah is a martyr, he who dies in an epidemic is a martyr, he who dies from a stomach disease is a martyr, and he who dies of drowning is [also] a martyr." (Reported by Muslim.)

SubhanAllah, only recently two of my dad's friends have also been diagnosed with cancer... things are getting pretty tough.
May Allah grant us all strength of emaan and the patience to pull through such tough situatins successfuly, ameen.

*Groans*

Of all people, Maclean's Magazine decides to interview Tarek Fatah??!!!!!

The man is crazy... amongst his track record for saying the darndest things, he's claimed that Little Mosque on the Prairie is totally unrepresentative of Muslims because according to him, most Muslims don't even pray.
He's paranoid, too - he's constantly going on and on about how The Islamists are trying to take over Canada and impose Shari'ah or something.
And, ummmmm, what does the whole teddy-bear-named-Muhammad thing have to do with A love affair of the Left and Islamists that is very dangerous for the rest of the world"?

Is Maclean's trying to be funny?

(Late) 'Eid Mubarak!

TaqabbalAllah minna wa minkum... I hope you all had a good 'Eid, insha'Allah!
Mine was all right, al-Hamdulillaah - went for 'Eid salaah (we had 'Eid on Friday), and had the usual family gathering and 'Eid loot.

Yesterday, however, was not so grand... we organized the first "real" 'Eid party in my city, and we vastly underestimated the amount of people who came - not entirely our fault, though, because people walked in even though they hadn't bought tickets in advance! I'm thinking of writing a post titled "A Day in the Life of... an 'Eid Party Volunteer - Or, 101 Reasons Why I Hate People." (Although I'll probably end up getting lazy and not writing it at all!)

Anyway, let me know how your 'Eid went! :)

Love,
Mouse

RAMADHAAN MUBARAK, EVERYBODY!!!!!

May Allah make this month one of increased 'ebaadah, emaan, and taqwa for us all; and accept all our deeds; and make us amongst those who emerge from Ramadhaan with our sins forgiven, ameeeeeeeen!!!!!!

Much love,
Mouse

A Day In the Life of a Young Muslimah

Today I helped wash and shroud my first dead body.

May Allah have mercy on her, and on us; forgive her, and forgive us; and may He save us from the trials and tribulations of the grave, and from Hell. May He make our graves spacious for us, and let us smell the fragrance of Paradise. May He let us die with the shahaadah on our lips and emaan in our hearts.

Ameen, thumma ameen, yaa Rabb al-'Aalameen!

Writing Exercise

It's a bit rough and isn't exactly a great piece, but it was fun to write! :P

-------------

“As-salaamu ‘alaikum… I’m hoooooooooome!” she called out in a sing-song voice, as she swung open the door, motorcycle helmet under her arm. Her mother, Aaminah, setting the table in the dining room, replied the greeting with a disapproving look at her daughter’s getup – what she liked to call her “Muslim biker chick costume”. The “costume” consisted of a long-sleeved ankle-length cape-like leather jacket, buttoned down to the waist until it flared open to alternately hide and reveal a similarly flaring skirt, split at the sides, under which she wore matching leather pants. “Huntress hijab-ified” the Muslimah biker chick pronounced, referring to her DC-comics heroine.

Ignoring her mother’s expression, Sameera relieved her of a stack of plates and completed the chore.
“Where were you?” her mother asked, returning from the kitchen with a pot of steaming stew. “What were you doing?”

“Oh, the usual,” Sameera answered casually. “You know, starting up brawls at the pub and toilet-papering the Masjid.”

“Sameera!” her mother cried out, horrified, and her daughter laughed and kissed Aaminah’s cheek in apology. “I’m kidding, Mom! You know we’d never do that… nah, today we just hung out at the park and gave Da’wah.”

Somewhat mollified, her mother’s expression softened but then became suspicious. “Da’wah?”
Sameera smiled sweetly. “Blowing bubbles, playing with kittens, and beating the daylights out of some drunk loser who tried to rape a teenage girl…”

Aaminah’s eyes widened in horror and she grabbed her daughter’s hands. “Please tell me you didn’t do what you just said you did!” she begged, her face creased with worry.

“All right, so the kitten ran away from us,” Sameera said flippantly, but repented when at the look of anguish on her mother’s face. “I promise, Mama, we’re all okay! And we couldn’t just let that, that animal hurt the girl… Mama, this is our job. This is why we’re a gang of Muslimah biker chicks – the cops can’t be everywhere, and when they do show up it’s too late. This way, we do our civic and Islamic duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil.” She gave her mother’s hands a reassuring squeeze and let go, turning away to leave – but before she could escape, Aaminah caught hold of her sleeve, still anxious.

“What if you get hurt one day?” she implored her daughter. “I wouldn’t be able to bear it. There are dangerous people out there, and Allah only knows what they could to you – you forget that you’re a girl, just like the one you rescued today.”

“Not just like the girl we rescued,” Sameera corrected. “The other girl was helpless – I’m not. I have skills… martial arts, self defence, and I have the girls to watch my back. Above and beyond all those, we have Allah. We place our trust in Him, and whatever happens, good or bad, is from Him. Qadaa wa-l Qadr,” she said, referring to the Islamic belief of predestiny.

“Trust in Allah but tie your camel,” Aaminah quoted back. “You know I’m not happy with what you do… won’t you stop? Think of how I feel every time you go out – you could get hurt, you could have an accident, you might get into a fight with someone you can’t beat. There are too many horrible possibilities!”

“Mama, I think you’re exaggerating a little,” Sameera said firmly. “The girls and I don’t go around beating thugs up every day and night – however much we’d like to pretend we are, we aren’t comic book superheroes, and we know it. Most of the time we’re not engaged in anything violent or dangerous, unless you count trying to teach a roomful of hyper kids to be violent and dangerous.” She paused, then continued in a softer voice. “I’ll stop only if you forbid me. I won’t disobey you.”

Aaminah said nothing, just looked at her daughter – at the determined expression on her face, at the somewhat alarming outfit that made her look like a troublemaker but beneath which she knew was a pure and devoted heart. She bit her lip, then sighed.

“I won’t forbid you,” she said finally. “I suppose I know why you do what you do, and even if I don’t like it I know you’re doing something good with the best of intentions… Now go take off your costume and wash up for dinner.”

Sameera grinned in relief and bounded down the stairs to obey her mother’s command. Aaminah stood still, gazing after her daughter, thoughts and emotions roiling inside her head and her heart. Finally, she heaved a sigh, whispered a du’aa for her daughter’s wellbeing, and went back into the kitchen.

I'm Losing It!

I dunno what it is, but I feel like I'm losing my touch for writing quality articles these days... :(
I can't think of any subject I'm really "qualified" to write about, nor have my recent 'works' been much in terms of insight or anything. My last post on MuslimMatters drove the point across to me quite strongly, and I'm tempted to delete it.
It doesn't feel like writer's block; it feels more like I'm just not writing anything worth reading.

Hmmmmmmm, is it possible for someone to lose a talent? It hurts, really - I miss the enormous feeling of excitement, the wheels of my brain going round and round, the itching in my fingertips that would overwhelm me whenever I came across something that inspired me to write something that I knew others actually thought was worth reading.

Maybe it's a sign... should I just stop writing?

What Be Your Nerd Type? Your Result: Literature Nerd   Does sitting by a nice cozy fire, with a cup of hot tea/chocolate, and a book you can read for hours even when your eyes grow red and dry and you look sort of scary sitting there with your insomniac appearance? Then you fit this category perfectly! You love the power of the written word and it's eloquence; and you may like to read/write poetry or novels. You contribute to the smart people of today's society, however you can probably be overly-critical of works. It's okay. I understand.
Social Nerd
Drama Nerd
Artistic Nerd
Gamer/Computer Nerd
Anime Nerd
Science/Math Nerd
Musician
What Be Your Nerd Type? Quizzes for MySpace

I Couldn't Resist... Too Funny!

You are a 50% Pakistani!!

Almost there. Keep working on it loser.Are you ashamed of yourself or your momma and papa never taught you the desi ways?

how pakistani are you
Take More Quizzes

(Darn it, I lost the marriageability results! :( Just go to the site - GoToQuiz.com - and type in 'desi' in the search box... mind you, it only applies to girls!)

*Bangs Head on Wall*

Subhan'Allah.
I don't like people.

People who let their egos and irresponsibility and personal grudges get in the way of continuing the work of an Islamic centre. Grown adults who act like petty school children; who have willingly volunteered their time but who don't actually do anything - or at least, don't do anything unless they're (verbally) kicked in the butt, and then they go do what they're told with a frustratingly childish sulky attitude.
People who can't take care of expensive equipment bought with painstakingly collected and saved donations...
People who overwhelm the few really awesome people left, who ruin the efforts of this special handful, and totally mess up the good that's being done (or trying to get done).

I feel so sorry for my dad... having to manage not just a Madrasah, an upcoming summer camp, a Muslim youth helpline, counselling, AND an Islamic centre in another city.

May Allah grant him ease, peace of mind, and the strength and patience to keep dealing with stupid people. If I were him, I would've smacked someone upside the head by now.

This is where the control freak in me kicks in: I wish I could implant mindchips into these people's heads and override their stupidity so that it makes things easier for my dad and for the other few guys who are working really hard at the Dar...

Honestly, I feel like crying. For nine years my dad worked his butt off getting the Islamic centre off the ground, helping it grow out of a tiny office on top of a car factor into several larger facilities, from a simple bookstore to a musallah with weekly halaqas and regular programs for men, women, kids and teens... subhan'Allah, he sacrificed a lot of family time (and okay, so we resented it awfully at the time, but now I'm starting to understand why), and our lives were split between home and the Dar - we used to joke that the Dar was our second home, and my dad's first home.
Then the stress got so bad that we had to move, and now stupid people left in charge, who were trusted to keep things going, go and RUIN EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Bangs head on wall*

I'm glad that I have strong memories of 'the glory days' and haven't had to witness the miserable ruins of the place as it is now (unlike my dad, who's had to make several trips back and forth to deal with issues)...

Politics used to fascinate me. Now it sickens me. Politics between people, between fellow Muslims who are forgetting what our Islamic centre was founded on and why it was established in the first place, is what is ruining everything.

People suck.

Conspiracy Theorist Extraodinaire!

White chocolate is not real chocolate. It is part of a conspiracy by the Free Masons/ Zionists/ Big Brother/insert scary names here . If they get you to believe that white chocolate is real chocolate, you will believe anything... and will be officially just another mindless zombie victim.

White chocolate is not real chocolate.
White chocolate is not real chocolate.
White chocolate is not real chocolate.

DON'T EAT WHITE CHOCOLATE!!!!!

I'm gonna hug ya, and keep ya, and call you George!

*Sneeze!*

As-salaamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatu,

*Looks around at the dusty mousehole and pulls out a duster*

I've been thinking of returning to my cozy little mousehole here... I love MuslimMatters (al-Hamdulillaah), but I miss this place... I've decided that I'm gonna use this as my little corner for some creative writing, and lots of personal musings - I'm so busy with school and the Madrasah and writing for MuslimMatters (okay, not soooo busy with MuslimMatters), that I feel I sorta need to take the time to write out my teen angsty stuff here (well, not so much angst as... stuff).

Anyhoo, if anyone's still here, hiding in the shadows, drop me a line and let me know I'm not allll alone... I'll even make hot chocolate for you! :P

-Mouse

Remember!

If you had/have me on your blogroll, then please replace 'Musings of a Muslim Mouse' with MuslimMatters.org!!!!! This goes especially for most of you on my blogroll! :P

I’m Moving!


I was going to title this post ‘fond farewells’, but I realized that it’s not a farewell at all… okay, you’re probably wondering what’s going on, so I’ll cut to the crux of the matter.

Here’s the deal: brother Amad of Musings of a Muslim Mind came up with the idea for a group blog, composed and maintained by several fellow Muslim bloggers – myself; sister Ruth Nasrullah from The Straight Path; brother Omar from Lota Enterprises; a newbie blogger, brother Ahmad alFarsi; and, of course, brother Amad himself.

In addition to we 5 who form the editorial staff, guest writers will include Sheikh Yasir Qadhi from al-Maghrib Institute and Sheikh Tawfique Chaudhury from al-Kawthar Academy (amongst others).

Cool, huh?!

Anyway, our new blog is at www.muslimmatters.org - Discourses in the Intellectual Traditions, Political Situation, and Social Ethics of Muslim Life.
(Don’t you just love the long title? :P)

So, what does this all mean?

Well, it means that from now on, I’ll be posting over at MuslimMatters instead of my little mousehole here… and while I’m going to miss this place (especially the still-new template and my little Muslim mousey pic!) I’ll still be around. I’m not quite sure whether I’m going to totally abandon my cozy corner here – I might post little things such as bits of creative writing, art, and anything else that strikes my fancy but doesn’t quite fit on MuslimMatters – so check up every once in a while, insha’Allah.

So… yeah. Please go over to MuslimMatters, read the welcome message (as soon as I write and post it, that is!), and check out our other posts! And, of course, please do leave comments!

Before I finally go from here, I’d like to borrow a page from brother Amad’s book and ask you all to please just leave a general review of me and my blog… while reading my musings and mutterings, what sort of impression did you have of me? What do my strong suits seem to be, and what are my failings and weaknesses, the stuff that I ought to improve upon?

I’d just like to say how wonderful it’s been to run this blog… it’s only been up for a few months, really – since July/August… but though it started off pretty slowly I managed to round myself up a few regular readers – al-Hamdulillaah! :)

And so now I shall betake myself off… to write the welcome message and then terrorize my little brother into thinking that he’s got the chickenpox too! :P :D

Your little sister in Islam,

Mouse